Sunday, March 13, 2016

Did "They" Lie About Eliminating Tariffs & Replacing Them With The Income Tax?

The Libertarian blogger Willis Hart has referred to some "they" that lied about replacing tariffs with an income tax. A "they" he apparently hates very much (caution: Willis expresses his hate via disgusting vulgarities and profanities).

Willis Hart: On the Fact that the Federal Income Tax (as Proposed in 1913) was Supposed to Be a Replacement for the Tariff (to the Point of Eliminating it)... Yeah, the cock-suckers lied. Big surprise, huh? (5/7/2015 AT 10:12pm).

Willis Hart: On the Fact that the Income Tax Started Off in 1913 at 1% (with Only the Rich Paying it)... Folks have compared it to boiling a frog; the fact that when you put a frog in boiling water it jumps out but when you put it in cool water and warm it gradually it croaks (sorry). Same with taxes and the economy. P.S. It also must be stated that the income tax was supposed to be a trade-off for eliminating the tariff and, so, yep, they fucking lied about that, too. (3/12/2016 AT 3:11pm).

So "they" promised that if there were an income tax, tariffs would be eliminated? I guess this is a fact that is so well known that Willis doesn't need to cite a source, huh? Although I must admit that I don't know what he's talking about.

Some background here... the Wilson–Gorman Tariff Act of 1894, was the first time that a peacetime income tax was proposed. There had been an income tax previously (to pay for the Civil War). This time, however, the income tax, "was to make up for revenue that would be lost by tariff reductions".

So here we DO have an example of tariffs being lowered and that income made up with an income tax. But Wilson–Gorman only REDUCED tariffs. "They" never said the purpose of the bill was to get rid of tariffs. BTW, the income tax was ruled unConstitutional when "the U.S. Supreme Court decided Pollock V Farmers Loan Trust Co, striking down the federal income tax of 1894".

But Willis referred to a bill passed in 1913. This incarnation of the income tax came about after ratification of the 16th Amendment which "allows the Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on the United States Census".

The Revenue Act of 1913 (the act Willis refers to) "re-imposed the federal income tax... and lowered basic tariff rates from 40% to 25%". Again, nothing about ELIMINATING tariffs here, just lowering them. Looks like Willis is wrong. There was no promise that the income tax would replace tariffs (not that I've been able to verify, at least).

So what the hell is the Hartster talking about? Because only "team members" can comment on his blog (currently) I couldn't submit my question there... so I sent him a message through FaceBook. I have a feeling he won't respond, however.